Hungary has postponed the opening of two additional negotiation clusters in Ukraine's European Union accession process, underscoring continued reservations in Budapest despite recent progress following the election of reformist Prime Minister Péter Magyar.


After more than a year of stalled negotiations under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Ukraine opened its first "fundamentals" negotiation cluster in June, following Magyar's election in April. Earlier this month, the EU also launched a second cluster covering foreign and security policy, Financial Times learned.


However, according to people briefed on the discussions, Hungary last week blocked the opening of clusters two and three, which cover integration into the EU single market and broader economic and social policies.


One EU diplomat described the delay as a temporary "hiccup" that is expected to be resolved, while officials said maintaining Hungary's support would likely require direct political engagement.


The Hungarian government reiterated its opposition to any accelerated accession process for Ukraine. A government spokesperson said Kyiv should not receive preferential treatment over Western Balkan candidates, many of which have spent years fulfilling the EU's accession requirements.


A long-anticipated meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to take place.


Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said over the weekend that Ireland aims to see the second and third negotiation clusters opened as soon as possible, with the remaining two clusters expected to follow before the end of the year.


The EU accession process consists of 33 negotiating chapters grouped into six thematic clusters. Opening negotiations does not guarantee membership or establish a timeline for joining the bloc. Montenegro, widely viewed as a potential EU member by 2027, has been negotiating its accession for 14 years, while Türkiye has formally remained an EU candidate and has been in accession talks for nearly 21 years.


By Sabina Mammadli